Thursday July 14, 2011-- The Prado and excursion departure
Thursday morning we had a group field trip to one of the worlds most famous museums... The Prado. The Prado holds paintings from the 14th century all the way to the early 19th century. This place was amazing. We were split up into four groups and each group had a guide with them to explain the paintings and artists' background. We saw paintings from the very famous Spanish artist, El Greco. We also saw works from Sorolla, Valazquez, Goya, and Rubens. The tour lasted about 2 hours but I could have spent the whole day there. We only saw about 1/4 of the museum, but the first two tours had to leave early because we were going on the excursion! We had a great tour though... normall The Prado is packed but since we went so early, we were lucky and had very few others visitors with us!
We had to be back at the Colegio and on the bus by noon in order to get on the road for our big trip to the north of Spain! This was one hell of a weekend. We stopped in over six different towns/villages in a matter of four short days. We were on the bus alot but what we did get so see made it so worth it. It was an amazing trip and well worth the money!
Such a great view!
Abbye and I in La Rioja
Right across is one of the oldest functioning monestaries left in Europe -- Yuso Monastary. This monestarty holds some of the oldest midevil manuscripts and we were able to see the first text published in Spanish over a thousand years ago. This place was spectacular. I have never seen anything so spectacular and grand but in such a unique way. It is pretty cool to say you've been to the place where the Spanish language originated and saw the original texts!
Yuso
After the monestary we were headed to wine tasting at one of the best wineries in La Rioja, David Moreno. We tasted several kinds of red wines and were able to buy some of our favorites! We had a personal guided tour of the winery, explaining everything you would ever need to know about wineries. After the tour, they served us a delicious feast of stew, salad, and lamb with unlimited wine. Clearly we had a great time! The group even sang me Happy Birthday!!! All the lights went off for about five minutes and no one had any idea what in the heck was going on but they finally turned them all back on and began singing Happy Birthday. It was so great! After a great night already, we were headed to our first hotel stop in Logrono. Our hotel was so fun and comfortable. There are seven of us gals so we decided to split the rooms between three and four -- I was with Abbye and Kelsey which was perfect! One of our favorite teachers on the trip, Christobal, took us out to a bar called Stress... which is exactly what it was. Logrono is not much of a touristy town and we were clearly tourist and they didnt seem to like us unwelcomed visitors. But of course we made the best of it and were back at the hotel by two!
(left to right) Jamie Lee, Maggie, Abbye, Kelsey, Nola, Molly, and me
delcious wine tasting
David Moreno Winery
Abbye, Me, Maggie, Nola, Jamie Lee, Kelsey, Molly, and Jack
HOTEL IN LAGRONA
Friday July 15, 2011-- Pamplona, San Sebastion, Zarauz
We were up and on the road by 10:30 Friday morning and on our way to sightsee some beautiful wineries on our way to Pamplona. All I can say about Pamplona is that it smelled... terribly. The running of the bulls had just ended the day before we were there and there was alot of trash around, but it smelt like a mixture of the Perry Fair animal exhibit and downtown Athens after a gameday. It was gross. I wished we could have gone at a better date because I am sure the city has much more to offer than its horrid smell but thats all I could think about.
us girls in Pamplona
After Pamplona, we were on our way to the most beautiful place I've ever seen -- SAN SEBASTIAN. Words and pictures will never be able to describe how spectacular this place is but i'll try... Roberto had our bus driver take us to the best view of the town on top of a mountain. He had us look the opposite way the entire way up so we wouldn't see a thing until we were at the top. When we got off the bus and turned our heads, I was shocked. I had tears coming down my face it was so pretty. San Sebastion is a very wealthy town where many celebrities and famous people go to vacation or have weekend homes at, and I can see why. In my dream future, I will have a house there so I can spend my summers in the most beautiful place.
San Sebastian
Mom and Dad, I think its time to get a beach house here!
After San Sebastian, we were on our way to the second town we'd be staying in, Zarauz. Zarauz is right outside of San Sebastion and is a very touristy town. We walked up and down the beaches and had a nice dinner at our hotel where they served us soup, salad, and cow cheek. Yes, I did just say cow cheek. A very interesting delicacy. Most people liked it but I had a bad piece I believe and I was not so crazy about it. I really just couldn't get over the thought of what I was eating. It was nothing like what you think a cow cheek would look like. It was very thick and tender, I was expecting something flat and thin...like a flank steak. Negative. Everything else was delicous though, and then we were out on the town with Christobal again! A big group of us went out to a few bars on the boardwalk right on the beach. And as always, we had a great time.
HOTEL IN ZARAUZ
Saturday July 16th, 2011 -- Saint Jean de Luz, Basque Country, Lekeitio, and Bilbao
We were on the road again by 10:30 and headed to south of France! We only were able to stop in one town but it was very quaint and nice.... Saint Jean de Luz. We were able to walk along the beach again and have beignets! Yummmm! We were only there for about an hour and half but it was a nice stop in France!
us gals in Saint Jean de Luz
After Saint Jean de Luz we headed towards Lekeitio for lunch. This is one of the best fishing villages in the world! Alot of the tuna we eat in American comes from this place. We ate lunch at one of the cafes right on the beach and had a beautiful view!
Bilbao bound! After lunch headed towards Bilbao. Bilbao is Spains fifth largest city and is said to be a very rich city. Spanairds say that it is their 'stuck up' city. We stayed in a super cool hotel that was right across from the Guggenheim! We had a great dinner in the hotel and drank some delicious red wine in the hotel bar! After a few drinks, Christobal took us out for a night on the town again! This was my favorite night by far! We all had so much fun and danced the night away!
HOTEL IN BILBAO
Sunday July 17, 2011 -- Guggenheim, Human Evolution Museum, Madrid bound!
Sunday was exhuasting! After three days of non-stop travel and half sleeping on a bus, we were all pooped! We were up by 9:45 and headed over to the Guggenheim. There are only three of these in the world, in NYC, Bilbao, and Italy! It was very very interesting but it was pretty hard to walk around for two and a half hours with all of us being so sleepy. But I am glad we went, I have been dying to go to the Guggenheim in New York City but for now, going to the one is Bilbao will have to do!
Guggenheim
After the Guggenheim, we were Madrid bound! And I think everyone was pretty excited about it! We all missed our own beds at the Colegio and the comfort of a city we were familiar with! On the way back we stopped at a Human Evolution Museum in Burgos, Spain. I was in complete zombie mode at this point. We had a hour and half guided tour which was pretty interesting, i think... haha. But it was really cool to see all the old fossils and bones they had found. After the museum we were on our last stretch back to Madrid. We got stuck in traffic so it took us about three and half hours after the museum to get back. But we finally made it back around 10:30!
This excursion was a chance of a lifetime. Most people make these visits in weekends and we did over six cities in four days! I have another weekend excursion this weekend to Lisbon, Portugal! I am so pumped. We will be in Lisbon the entire weekend so we won't be spending near as much time on the bus or switching hotels! I can't wait to tell ya'll about it! Until then... ADIOS!
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